Bakyietaia liangzhuorum Yen, Zhang & von Rintelen, 2025

Bakyietaia liangzhuorum Yen, Zhang & von Rintelen gen. et sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:

Figs 28–29 View Fig View Fig

Diagnosis

Shell medium in size (25.25 ± 3.07 mm), conical, spire low, teleoconch with prominent primary keels, columellar lip recurved, forming callus covering umbilicus completely, outer lip thick; operculum with small nuclear region (around 1/5 of inner opercular region) with shiny grains or veins; outer marginal tooth of radula with 20–25 small sharp cusps.

Etymology

‘Liang Zhu’ is the abbreviated title of one of China’s four great folktales, ‘Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai’. They loved each other, but Zhu was forcibly betrothed to someone else. Liang, grief-stricken, became ill and died. When Zhu’s wedding procession passed Liang’s tomb, a strong wind suddenly blew up, forcing them to stop. In front of the tomb, Zhu told Liang how much she loved him. The tomb burst open and Zhu immediately jumped into it. Afterwards a pair of colourful butterflies appeared from the tomb: their spirits emerged in the form of butterflies and flew away together, never to be separated again.

Inspiration for the name liangzhuorum for this species is drawn from seven Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) tombs in Basi, which are near the type locality. The recommended Chinese name is 彩蝶ṉ田ª.

Material examined

Holotype

CHINA • spec. preserved in ethanol; Guangxi, Laibin City, Wuxian County, Tongwan Town , a river in Jin Village , 0.5 m deep in crack of rocks; 20 Dec. 2019; Han-Zhi Tan leg.; KIZ.240024 .

Paratypes

CHINA – Guangdong Province • 2 specs (preserved in ethanol); Qingyuan City, Qingxin District, Bin River near Shitan Town , 0.6 m deep on rock with sand and mud substrate; 24 Sep. 2022; Mr Chen leg.; KIZ.240031 , KIZ.240032 • 1 spec. (preserved in ethanol); Qingyuan City, Qingxin District , Bin River near Shitan Town , 0.6 m deep on rock with sand and mud substrate; 24 Sep. 2022; Mr Chen leg.; ZMB.122762 • 1 spec. (preserved in ethanol); same data as for preceding; KIZ.240099 . – Guangxi • 4 specs (preserved in ethanol); same data as for holotype; KIZ.240025 to KIZ.240028 • 1 spec. (preserved in ethanol); same data as for holotype; ZMB.122691 • 4 specs (preserved in ethanol); same data as for holotype; KIZ.240097 • 2 specs (preserved in ethanol); Yulin City, Chenghuang Town , a river near Shirentou Mountain , 0.1 m deep on mud and sand substrate; 13 Mar. 2022; Le-Jia Zhang leg.; KIZ.240029 , KIZ.240030 • 1 spec. (preserved in ethanol); Yulin City, Chenghuang Town , a river near Shirentou Mountain , 0.1 m deep on mud and sand substrate; 13 Mar. 2022; Le-Jia Zhang leg.; ZMB.122719 • 1 spec. (preserved in ethanol); Yulin City, Chenghuang Town , a river near Shirentou Mountain , 0.1 m deep on mud and sand substrate; 13 Mar. 2022; Le-Jia Zhang leg.; KIZ.240098 • 4 specs (preserved in ethanol); Qinzhou City, Pubei County, Liuken Town , Hengtong , 0.2 m deep on mud substrate; 25 Sep. 2020; Mr Huang leg.; KIZ.240033 to KIZ.240036 • 2 specs (preserved in ethanol); same data as for preceding; ZMB.122761 • 4 specs (preserved in ethanol); same data as for preceding; KIZ.240100 .

Other material

CHINA – Guangdong Province • 3 specs (preserved dry); Qingyuan City, Qingxin District , Bin River near Shitan Town , 0.6 m deep on rock with sand and mud substrate; 24 Sep. 2022; Mr Chen leg.; YHY-BAKLIA-ST-18 , YHY-BAKLIA-ST-17 , YHY-BAKLIA-ST-2 . – Guangxi • 1 spec. (preserved dry); Yulin City, Chenghuang Town , a river near Shirentou Mountain , 0.1 m deep on mud and sand substrate; 13 Mar. 2022; Le-Jia Zhang leg.; YHY-BAKLIA-CH-1 • 3 specs (preserved dry); Qinzhou City, Pubei County, Liuken Town , Hengtong , 0.2 m deep on mud substrate; 25 Sep. 2020; Mr Huang leg.; YHY-BAKLIA-QZ-1 , YHY-BAKLIA-QZ-18 , YHY-BAKLIA-QZ-2 .

Description

Adult shell ( Fig. 28A–I, H–L View Fig ) medium in size (25.25 ± 3.07 mm), thin to thick, sturdy, conical, olive to greenish brown, with six whorls, teleoconch whorls not inflated, with three smooth strong primary keels, with one to two weak smooth keels located between suture and first keel, sometimes one additional weak keel located between first and second/second and third keels, base of shell with one to four weak keels, all keels usually darker than rest of shell surface; aperture ovate, less than half of the shell in height, inner shell surface bluish white to pale purple, margin of outer and columellar lip stained black or white, outer lip slightly thickened, always with a strong angular periphery, columellar lip covered with thick inner shell layers, white or pale orange, adult columellar lip recurved, forming a relatively narrow crescent-shaped callus, this structure completely covering umbilicus.

Operculum ( Fig. 28F–G View Fig ) corneous, ovate, relatively thick, yellow to orange, sometimes with red nuclear region; exterior surface smooth; interior surface with small nuclear region, around 1/5 of inner opercular region, with shiny grains or veins or smooth glossy surface.

Radular ( Fig. 29 View Fig ) (n = 5) central tooth with one broad central denticle and three to four small sharp cusps on either side; lateral tooth with one broad central denticle and three to four small sharp cusps on either side; inner marginal tooth narrow, about half of lateral tooth in width, with one broad central denticle and three to four small sharp cusps on either side; outer marginal tooth wide, almost same as lateral tooth in width, with 20 to 25 small sharp cusps.

Remarks

Bakyietaia liangzhuorum gen. et sp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners based on its medium-sized conical shell with low spire, prominent primary keels and thick outer lip. This species occurs sympatrically with B. chenghuang gen. et sp. nov. in Chenghuang Town. However, B. liangzhuorum prefers a sandy/muddy substrate, while B. chenghuang lives on large rocks.

Habitat and distribution

Mostly sand or mud substrate (occasionally on rocks) in the shallow water of rivers in eastern Guangxi and central Guangdong Province, China.